Friction-gear.



' ATTORNEY.`

4 Q. B.\PATCVH. Fmclow GEAR,

APPLICATION. EILED JULY l5. |916.,

Pfened 116114111918. A

Z4 24B /9 E z5 CALVIN Bi. PATCH, F

'lill FRICTION-GEAR.

Specication of Letters Patent.

ifa'teintetl lieti. ttl. Mittel.

Application filed July 15,1916. Serial No. 109,'445. i'

To all 'u1/wm v'i may] concern.'

'Re it known that CaiiyIN l. PATCH, a citizen of the United States. residing at Glencllyii. in the county of Dupage and State. of llliiiois, have invented ril-certain new and useful lmproveiiient in Friction- (lears, of which the following is a full, clear. concise, and exact description` reference he ing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

rl`his invention relates to improvements iii friction gears.

As is well known, it is desirable in friction gears for railway cars, to have the main springs under an initial compression to conipensate for wear and to prevent looseness of the parts. l-leretofore, in the assembling of certain types of friction gears, in order to obtain the preliminary spring compression above referred to, considerable difficulty has been experienced in inserting the springs under initial compression.

v'lhe'object of this invention is to provide a simple expedient for overcoming the ditli cultics ahove indicated and more particularly to facilitate the assembling of the parts of that type of friction gear commonly known as the Miner A type and related types wherein twin arranged springs are placed behind a follower that is located at the rear of the friction elements proper.

ln the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a longitudinal sec-l tional view ofa friction gear showing my improvements in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectional view of the gear proper and taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective of the improved key employed in my invention. And Fig. 4L is abrokeii view similar to Fig. l, illustrating the manner of assembling the parts, in actual practice.

Referring to said drawing, A denotes a casting which has formed integrally therewith a. friction cylinder l0 and a twin spring cage or casing l1, The latter is substantially rectangular in cross section and is open at the sides to permit the insertion laterally of the main springs lil-l2, each of the latter profe `ahly consisting of an outer heavy coil and lighter nested inner coil. The main springs l2 engage at their forward ends, a spring follower 13 which, as nsual, is provided with a forwardly extended annular vllaiige ll which slides within the friction cylinder l() and hy which the follower is guided,v Said flange also sei-yes thel purpose of transmitting the pressure from the friction shoes l5 to the springs l2 after the preliminary spring lo has been coinpressed. toiipei'able with the shoes l5 a wedge ll. said wedge. shoes. preliii'iinaiy spring and l'ollowei' t3 heiiig held iii assembled position hy means oli holt 1S.

lt is ext i'eiiiely ditlicnlt' to insert the spring l2 under an initial compression. laterally into the spring cage inasmuch as the springs are of high capacity and special tools would lie required to do this. .f`\ccordiiigl with my improvements. the main springs are iiiserted laterally without heilig put iiinlei' compression and this` is done with the At'ollower 13 hearing directly against' the annular shoulder lt) formed at the rear end ot the cylinder lt). that is with the keys il. B, hereinafter described` iiot' in place. fter this has heen accoii'iplished` and before any el" the friction elements proper are inserted. the gear is placed in a bulldozer or other suitable machine by which pressure may he readily applied to the follower 1? hy means of a plunger 20, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. By this'siinple manner. the springs 12 can he compressed much as desired and when in the position shown in Fig. 4, the keys B, ll are inserted laterally through openings Ql2l iii vopposite sides of the flange Jil. Each of the keys B comprises an oiiter thickened section 22 which remains voutside of the annular flange 14 and is directly interposed hetween the follower 13 and the shoulde l5?. clearly illustrated in T.. i

rig. l; an intermediate liat section 23;.and

anoIlPset'. tlat section the latter fitting within a correspondingly shaped recess 25 formed in the front or outer face of the follower i3. is clearly appears from Figs. l and -t, each key l); is shouldered and when properly inserted, the shoulders. thereof will cooperate with the corresponding shoulders on the follower lf3 and prevent displacement la terelly of the -kej-JS., 'The keys having been properly inserted, theplnnger .20 is removed, whereupon the fell wer 13 will retin-n to the position indicated in l. As will be apparent, the springs l2 are thereby, placed under an initial compression which correspends to the longitndinal dimension or applied, as will be understood.

By the simple expedient which l have provided, not only is the assembling of the partsfacilitated, but the annular flange 14 of the spring' follower 13 is not materially I weakened; ample clearance is provided for the preliminary spring; a proper support is provided for the inner endv of said spring inasmuch as the bearing faces of the keys lie flush with the outer face of the portions of the follower 13 against which the spring bears; and thekeys, when in position, are locked so as to be prevented from either outward radial or circumferential movement.

I claim: i @1. In a friction-gear, the combination with a friction. shell having an integral spring cage, the l latter being open at its sides, of a follower mounted within the spring cage, .springs at the rear of said follower, said follower having an annu- .lar ange slidable within the friction shell,

and detachable keys associated with said follower and having portions thereof interposed between thev follower and dja# cent portonsof the frictionv shell to tgreby space the follower from the shell c d put the springs under compression, said keys being inserted laterally from the outside of said annular flange through openings in the latter, thev keys and follower having engaging shoulders preventing radial and circumferential movement of the keys relatively the follower.

2. 1n a device of the character described, the combination with a spring containing member open at its side and through which a spring is adapted to be inserted, a spring, and a spring follower, said spring container having a shoulder against which the follower would normally abut, of a removable key adapted to be inserted laterally through an opening in a portion of said follower, said key being shouldered and cooperating with corresponding shoulders in the follower, whereby the key is prevented from radial and circumferential movement relatively to the follower when it is assembled.

3. A friction gear for railway cars comprising, a'friction shell having an integral spring cage, springs arranged within said cage, a follower at the forward ends of said springs, the follower having an annular forwardly extended flange slidable within the friction shell, said flange being slotted on opposite sides, and keys insertible laterally fro'n the outside of said iange through said recesses, the main portion of the follower being .recessed and adapted to have portions of said keys seated in said recesses, thus forming inter-engaging shoulders to prevent the keys from moving radially and circumferentially.

In witness that l claim the foregoingl have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of July, 1916. v

CALVIN B. PATCH. Witnesses:

GOLDIEA. BISHOP, ELIZABETH M. Bmrr. 

